Swiss team wins the 10th edition of the European Rover Challenge

The ERC 2024 finals brought together students from the best technical universities, representing 11 countries from around the world, including Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia and Great Britain. There was also a strong Polish representation, as five engineering teams from Poland took part in the competition. After the three-day struggle, meeting the challenges of specially designed competitions and gaining 2258.24 points out of 3000, the FHNW Rover Team from Switzerland won. They were followed by the hosts, AGH Space Systems, with a score of 2026.5 points, and the third place was taken by the ITU Rover Team from Turkey with a score of 1796.6.

The final phase of the challenge was a culmination of a few months of intense work on unique projects of rovers, which then competed on a special track imitating the surface of Mars. The tasks faced by the participants faithfully reproduced real missions carried out by space agencies such as NASA or ESA, i.e. the challenges faced by rovers working on Mars and the Moon. The jubilee edition of the ERC also stood out with its new Mars yard design, a competition arena imitating the surface of the Red Planet. As part of the preparations for the event, a canyon inspired by the surface of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System, was created.

Classification of teams distinguished in the ERC 2024:

The Mars rover competition was not the only attraction of the past ERC weekend. There was also a popular science conference, with outstanding specialists and scientists delivering lectures. The event brought together representatives from the domestic and foreign space sectors, as well as representatives from space agencies such as NASA, ESA, and DLR. One of the speakers during the event was Dr Swati Mohan, a key expert at NASA JPL and the chief engineer of the Mars 2020 mission, and Simon Jenner, a representative of Axiom Space, a leading provider of manned spaceflight services.

The scientific exhibitor zone was waiting for all seekers of technological novelties and astronomy enthusiasts, regardless of age or extent of knowledge. It was an opportunity to take advantage of free workshops and conduct scientific experiments at the exhibitors' stands. This year's edition of the event also saw the final of the Earth Rescue Challenge – Water Edition project, a nationwide competition for secondary school students. The competition consisted in conducting satellite observations of a given region and proposing a solution for the protection and sustainable management of water resources based on the collected data. The competition was won by a team from a high school in Opoczno, whose solutions will be implemented into practice.

The event was also a great opportunity for business representatives and investors interested in space industry to meet and network. This included CASSINI Matchmaking, an initiative dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises from the EU operating in the space sector. The project focuses on stimulating European innovation by connecting ambitious companies with investors and corporations. As part of the partnership with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), individual mentoring consultations were held with representatives of the organisation and the European Commission, aimed at increasing the chances of entrepreneurs to reach capital financing and establish partnerships with investors.

The ERC competition was a perfect reason for a visit of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Richard R. Verma, who toured Mars yard, spoke to the teams, looked at their work, and met with guests present at the event.